The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-25
A THREATENED TOWN.
nENGEG3 TO WHICH THE CITY OF
MEXICO Is EXPOSED.
40 Vast Undertaking of M American

Company 80 Iankco -Hachlnery I'd
rc.r lEplroaLmG'3 Capital.
Nm, In, B,,St,, HernLi
49,, ~ IA r,-o.r rio,
go. . IT. r, o,-,,o
49,. .,,,it,,
e. - y '''H "'' '''i ~ W. 49,
- moo. ilH T"5,, dark clplH haaLS,
IpJ..I over ii city from the epgivd-
:. .,,,,;,s ~ .l,o vYlln.- l,4 down
,,.,,.,,,r,,i i,,,,.,i,,, ,l,a
49, -' -.
"'' "F''i OWING 'h2 i'Pd'""
Is ''is ia -" .uhM'' i'lill'hg low
.,l,.. ,,',.s,,,. .-;r,Icr,s. lakes and re-
,i-. L,.r,,,. tho eyn tbr '.Venice of the
.,.i.I, ,5...ao,. ,r,.,,to g., .lo-
-A'''t| "t "'"'
GurotlN, prefer less Nehlce ana more dfy
lnnl Nutcr is pontlcal enough in its proper
,a>,, il is lovels in winding rivers like the
Charles, grand III the ocean, and delicious
IN the summer brook gurgling between
messy banis: but water, dirty, wet, damp
md mud -n9lino. in CITY streets is not bit
poetical. or Grand, or sublime. 1t is simply
n nuisance.
For four centuries the waters of the firlna-
mont have been tumbing down each sum
rler into the vast basin which the world
knows as the valley of Mexico The Aztecs
had lake city, Il lacustrine metropolis, and
as they did much of their locomotion in
canoes and pleasure barges, they did not
mind it very much; but when the Spanish
conGuerors
BUILT A STONE CITY
h.,, and nIlcd mn low lands and raised exist
;nr, 1.,,,eouore tbo,. undertook a hattle
AGAINST gonls cC,nna 70 HE only To tho work
~ the HoIIondors who have made a king
dom onr If what vas the he'd of the ocean
The Spaniarrs nor the Mexicans have been
able as yet to do what the Hollanders have
done, VIZ, 70 make dry lahd where once
was water. FROM tHe Iiille Vi iluiiip '.l'Il
down 70 the present yeaH INC quGs
bion o t.e uIalhaso Vi t e,io
raIey Oh Mexico mas peeh Ch9
Iaellle vi earliest Iliei' ~ Is acNl ,, "lcitcu
10 oe great WORK. puI II no longer TO
garden as stupeLuous, loF lloielii niaclili III
cry VIII alg 1ne slali ca,iaI W curIy On ~
te waters VI oile Iaho anu slHe oS,'t ~ ~
49, IS slI. eo y IT, H.,
~ IN vastly iesS 1iiile Inall Peon lapo,els, he
CIeNeIahu2 ", company WHICH h6'9 ulI'ieI
taken 10 uls olls cdllai WIN soon pe noWllis
tne u"eliers III Clls vailey Cne sIeaIesS sPg 1I
oa.e Iney nave eNeI "Ioliee'eA' e'Iu "iil'
WIN IheIi nuSe eAc"taOhls lac -II,
Throw 0u1 tlrI ny Uhe uon whcIe PIoil
wV9lu pe Iu8elhB SACK oi eaiOl vi "a ms
PACK re" Tous' 90 coniiuellI are tne
DucyFus ooIstr ucIloIi company Vi uolllR
eoliCei ieo UilS'o Oiiey navy oP ~ " opii
tracI Ior eAcaVa1lng oIlly i,Ooo,Ooo cuolc
ynds, uIuS!lils " proving Cno oaP9ciUy vi
.noli iiiaCliIlIoi Iol seToliS jug Wiloio ooli
dacu' eAiePI Viie otliiilel Unlous Di.e
Ialils' Which y 70 caIIy Ine WaV ti my q
i.eeI, "iitl mllf iiiiolty Imply T nv o.uy
Va iilUo que u'ulL vi lvAlio. me Jun
ne, nel government lllue , r taxing anu rs
iiAely 70 oe pun Onlousn laPluiy
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE TASK
will he seen when il is said that some 300
SQUARE miles contributes their waters To
swell the lakes which surround the CITY
and which Of This moment are so full that
for miles around thew food the country II
is almost by miracle that the city escapes
an inundation such as that famous one
which, more than $50 years ago, submerged
the streets of the capital and did not sub
side for four years, a most calamitous
event, which depopulated the city and
almost entirely destroyed the commercial
business here
As the progress of the work of draining
this valley, soon to be begun, will interest
engineers and sanitarans the world over,
will give, in as brief space as possible, an ac-
count of the condition of this problem, as it
presented itself in former times and as far
back as the reignS of the later Aztec mon
archs. The story is not a tiresome one, and
Gus.
This City of Mexico was in ancient times
situated in the midst of the brackish waters
of Lake Texcoco, now withdrawn several
miles from the town, and serving nowadays
us a place of deposit for such part of the
citv's sewage as manages to reach the lake.
AT the time of the conquest the city was in
tersected by canals, crossed Mt intervals by
wooden bridges. The canals were alive
with boats and bargeS bringing to the mar
ket-place the vegetable and floral products
of the surrounding country, building mate
rial, poultry, etc Many of the suburbs
were
BUILT IN THE WATERS
of +he Lake hairo e,,nno,.ted Inv, rilos ord
tbs canoes If the bonsahoiders va1 r tjea mn
dor tbnir dYrollinoS mt, ,,bicb ncoose ,,,as
had by a hole in the floor On the waters of
the lake were manpuvred the war fleets of
the Aztec kings, and it was on this city-en-
circling lake that Cortez launched his brig.
antines for the siege of the capital As has
been said, the lake was hrackish or salt, the
saline quality arising from the presence in
solution of muriate and carbonate of soda.
This saltishness of Lake Texcoco is still it's
distinguishing quality, and even now the
salt water of the lake, penetrating the soil
under the city, makes it difficult to maintain
healthy growth of trees here As the trees
grow and send their roots deeper they strike
the salt water beneath and gradually die u
wasting sort of death.
The Aztec City of Mexico was connected
with the mainland by three huge bikes, or
causewayS, a sort of combined water bar,
rier and raised roadway and n fourth Al ke